They designed a program of activities, the building to house it and created a business plan to fund it.

They also included a day-care center to help young teens responsible for watching younger siblings.

"We know that middle school students really needed a place where they could go and socialize and grow," Redman said.

They said it was a sound business plan that could work.

"We grew up in Danbury and we remember there were not a lot of places to hang out - only movies, the mall or someone's house," Nguyen said. "Danbury needs a place where kids can go and hang out and have fun that is safe and is a positive environment."

Along the way, the students learned software programs to assist their presentation, like CAD, the computer-aided design program, on which they learned to create a 3-D drawing of the facility.

Before creating their plan, students interviewed city officials to learn about needs, available programs and researched statistics about after-school programs.

The center would provide board and electronic games, billiards, television, resources like computers networked to the public schools to do homework, a reading lounge, and a snack bar.

The business plan called for students to subscribe to different levels of membership, which would help raise revenue to run the facility. The snack bar would also raise revenue.

The seniors also researched the competition. One is the after-school programs at the middle schools that run until 4 p.m. compared to the teen center's 9 p.m. closing.

The students thought area day-care centers would provide competition, but the center would benefit from school buses delivering students from school to the center to avoid the need for parent transportation.

The students considered
Fun Station
on Mill Plain Road, with video games and play areas, another competitor except that it does not provide the adult supervision the center would have.

At the presentation before school officials Friday, Redman closed the project by saying, "Together we could shape tomorrow's future."